Back in Time
by Lionna
Summary: When Sasuke killed Naruto, Lady Luck decided she wasn't quite done with him... HIATUS
1. Prologue

Well, a friend of mine challenged me to write a time-travel!Naruto fic. Who am I to turn down that sort of thing? Warning here, it's going to be slash if I end up doing more than one chapter. Who will end up together? I dunno.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Somebody whose name I can't spell does.

* * *

"So, this is what the end feels like... it's not so bad." The teen murmured as he lay on the ground, life blood pooling around in a ever-growing ring. He laughed, feeling light headed, as red chakra worked frantically to mend the flesh around the deep chest wound. The sword probably missed his heart, but even that small saving grace wouldn't matter in a few moments.

A dark haired young man kneeled over him, cursing and yelling for someone to help, for something to save the person he himself had condemned to death. "Dammit, Naruto, don't talk like that!" He swore.

Naruto smiled shakily at Sasuke. His friend, brother, and now murderer. He had no idea why he didn't feel angry with the other man. Maybe that sort of thing relied on having a larger amount of blood coursing through his veins than what now resided in his body. "It'll... b-be okay, Sas... uke." He was fading, he knew it. Not even the chakra he had won when defeating Kyuubi could replace the blood fast enough. "I-I'm gonna die... And y-you? You'll... go back... to Konoha. R-right?" He coughed, and smiled weakly.

"Oh, God, Naruto. Don't talk like that. You'll be alright, dobe. We'll go back together. We'll go to Konoha, and you'll be healed." Sasuke said frantically. Why hadn't the dobe dodged the sword coming at him. Why had the blond let it pierce his body. Why did he even come after Sasuke in the first place. He was beyond redemption.

Naruto grabbed the Uchiha's shaking hand. He supposed the other man was so upset because, even if he thought he was aiming to kill the former jinchuuriki, he didn't really mean it. They had clashed so much since the day the Avenger ran away, it was almost a game now. A game with now apparent deadly consequences.

His vision blurred and tunneled around the edges, and he knew his end neared. He needed to say one last thing. Had to have someone hear his last words, and pass on the message. "T-tell.. tell... Kakashi-s-sensei... I'm sorry. I d-don't think I'll m-make... it to his... b-birthday." Another promise broken. But what was one more among the multitude that lay like shattered glass in his mind, cutting him with self-reproach?

With a sigh, life fled from the body of Naruto Uzumaki, as his killed hunched over his corpse sobbing with regret and clutching it to his chest, blood seeping heedlessly into his white and purple gi.

OoOoOoO

_**"Brat."**_ A voice Naruto hadn't heard in about a year and a half echoed through the nothingness of the place the young man floated in. _**"So you, who defeated the King of Demons, will give up on your life, just like that?"**_ There was a deep, growling undertone that Naruto would recognize anywhere.

"Kyuubi? I thought you went back to where ever it was you came from." Naruto called, looking around as if he could see the fox demon through the mist. He didn't question how he had gone from bleeding out on the floor of the forest to standing in a misty area, his body whole once more.

_**"We **__**are**__** where I came from, you idiot."**_ Came the derisive reply from the yet-unseen demon. _**"Apparently it's fallen to me to deliver the news. I guess the Gods decided that you should be told by someone familiar, even if we did hate each other."**_ And then a red fox trotted into view, stopping near the boy and sitting down with a sigh.

Naruto laughed lightly, crouching to be level with the animal that was so obviously unnatural. After all, how many foxes had nine tails that were currently whipping around the lithe body. "So what sort of news do you have for me. I assume I'm dead." He tilted his head, probably feeling a lot calmer about this than he should.

_**"Yeah, brat, you're dead."**_ Kyuubi confirmed. _**"Shouldn't you, you know, be mourning your mortal life, or panicking, or... something?"**_

The Uzumaki shrugged. "I don't know. Should I?" He absently noted the interesting fact that even though Kyuubi was talking, he didn't open his maw.

The demon mimicked the motion (_'Shouldn't that be anatomically impossible for a fox?' _ Naruto thought.) and said, _**"In my experience... yeah."**_

The teen laughed. "One more thing that makes me unique. So anyway... the news?" He prompted. "I expect it has something to do with the fact that I've stopped here, and met you in this limbo instead of moving on."

The fox nodded jerkily. _**"You've at least gained a few braincells since I left you. Yes, the Gods want me to present you with a choice. Apparently Lady Luck is forcing their hand, with Destiny right behind her. They want me to tell you that you have the choice to go back to when it would be most beneficial."**_

Naruto furrowed his brow in confusion. "So let me get this straight, not only are two formerly metaphorical beings campaigning for me, but they're letting me go _back_ in time?"

Kyuubi lifted one fuzzy eyebrow. _**"Pretty big words for you, brat. But yeah, that's essentially it."**_

"So... I can either continue on to the great unknown, or go back in time, knowing what I do now, change the past, and terrorize the people who made my life hell?" Naruto said in a tone that made it clear what he would choose. He grinned maliciously and clapped his hands together. "Alright, how do we do this."

A thundering laugh rumbled from the barrel-like chest of the animal. _**"I told them there was not going to be a question. You may not like it, kid, but there's too much fox left in you to pass up on a chance to cause so much chaos. Alright. Close your eyes."**_

The teen complied. After a moment of silence, he called, "Okay, now what, Kyuubi?" There was no answer, but the smell of ramen filled his nose. Unable to bite back the curiosity, he oped his blue eyes, and was shocked to realize he was in his apartment.

"Wha-?"

The alarm clock on his bedside table let out it's pealing shriek, and the jumpy young man put a kunai in it before he could fully think about it. He rolled out of the bed, pulling the knife from the electronic workings of the unfortunate appliance, and used it to stab his own hand.

No a genjutsu, then, as the room in front of him didn't even waver. He went over to the wall calender, and almost laughed. It was a week before the genin exam.

The young man, once again a preteen, rubbed his hands together in the cliche manner that meant scheming. "Ooh, this is going to be _fun!_"

* * *

Will I continue this? Don't know. He got back in time, that was the only requirement. Maybe I will... I need to pull myself out of the 'one-shot ditch' after all. If I get good enough feedback, I'll continue.


	2. Of Foxes and Hounds

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_**Chapter 1**_

Naruto frowned at the people who passed by him on the streets. Expressions around him ranged from fear to rage, with disgust predominant. Only a week ago, or eight years in the future really, these people were still thanking him for saving the village. Still bowing when they saw him, still trying to give him free things. The change was disconcerting, but he was quickly getting used to it again.

The Academy wasn't far from his dumpy apartment and the young adult-turned-preteen arrived at the building quickly, even though his pace was meandering while he thought on his luck at getting a second chance, and what it would mean.

The seal that once held Kyuubi was thankfully empty, which was actually a bitter sweet thing. It meant that the accord he had struck in the past (Future? Other life?) was still in effect, but also that he wouldn't be seeing his mother and father again. But at least he wouldn't have to go through battling and haggling with Kyuubi again.

Before entering the Academy Building, Naruto subtly probed it with a small burst of chakra, which had become a habit before. He almost jumped when he felt the echoing response of Sasuke's chakra mixed in with the various other students and the few teachers who didn't know how to shield their energy from even the lightest of probes. It was a moment before the blond remembered that right now, in this time, Sasuke was still loyal to Konoha, still had no idea what the council had done to his family.

And was still an Academy student.

It was then that it truly hit Naruto what a gift he had been given. The chance to prevent it all from happening. He could defeat the Akatsuki before they even had a chance to know to look out for him. He could kill the disgusting _thing_ that had stolen Sasuke away from the people who cared about him. He could save the Third, and bring back Tsunade, and prevent Jiraiya's death!

The rush of possibilities left the boy reeling mentally, though to anyone looking at him, he was just as calm as before. As a ninja he was trained to keep all thoughts from his face. He was seated in a desk before his mind caught up, and he looked over to his friend, brother, enemy.

Sasuke looked so young and angry at the world, and Naruto snickered quietly. It was almost cute. Like a pissed off puppy. He turned away quickly before the young avenger could notice his amused glance.

There were only a few other students in the room, none of whom Naruto remembered (which meant they probably never even made it as ninja) and Iruka-sensei wasn't even there yet. He was earlier than he had any memory of being the first time, which apparently struck the others as odd because every few minutes one of them would cast an suspicious look his way. He laughed mentally, having forgotten that he had been a pretty active prankster before graduating the Academy. Afterwards there hadn't been any time for pranks.

He was so lost in slightly nostalgic thought that he almost jumped when a familiar voice called out, "Naruto?"

"Er, yeah? Sorry Iruka-sensei, I was lost in thought." The boy rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

He heard Sasuke snort and mutter something about it being unfamiliar territory, but the only acknowledgement that garnered from the blond was a lifted eyebrow.

Iruka smiled kindly at the boy, "It's nothing, I was just wondering what you did with your jumpsuit." He told him.

Naruto looked down at his clothes. They were simple, dark, and functional. He had to use a henge to buy them at a price that wouldn't break his budget earlier that day. There was no way he was going to once again be the moving orange target. "Oh, that! Well, I'm gonna be a real ninja soon, so I thought I'd look like it!" He said in a good mimic of how exuberant he was before Jiraiya's death.

Iruka blinked in shock, and smiled. "I'm glad you're taking it seriously this time, Naruto." That was all the conversation they had time for because the other students started to arrive, and it was almost time for class. Naruto sighed in relief.

_'This isn't so hard.' _He thought. _'I can act like my old self easily enough.'_

Too bad life was about to prove him wrong, because someone Naruto had completely forgotten about walked through the door and set the former jinchuuriki on edge.

Mizuki.

The teen wasn't aware that his face had shifted into a snarl, and his eyes grown ice cold, but someone else did.

Iruka looked from Naruto, to Mizuki, and back again, confused. What had his fellow teacher done to garner the look of utter hatred that the child was shooting at him? Deciding to talk to the boy about it later, Iruka clapped his hands and class began.

Naruto's sneer melted from his face as he thought, though his hands absently took notes on the things Iruka taught. He would have to warn someone of the traitor in their midst, especially one so close to the impressionable students of Konoha. His treachery wouldn't be exposed like last time, with the use of Naruto's naivety. So it might be likely that he would continue his subterfuge for a while yet before he stole the Forbidden Scroll in such a way that it would take the forces of Konoha a longer time to catch on than when an inexperienced, desperate twelve year old had done so.

He could tell old man Hokage, but would the man actually believe him? After all, he was known to stir up trouble for the heck of it. That ruled out Iruka too. Maybe one of the shadowy ANBU that seemed to always be right around the corner? They were suspicious enough to actually take it seriously, if only for the fact that even coming from a prankster it could be true.

"Naruto!" Iruka's voice rang out, "What did I just say?" It was one of the teacher's favorite questions to bark at students who didn't seem to be paying attention. He was surprised when Naruto rattled off the correct answer, though his eyes remained vacant. What was going on with the boy?

Class ended much later, and by the end the young teacher was almost frantically worried about his favorite student. Naruto had gotten to class early, sat through the whole thing silently, and seemed to take actual notes like the perfect student. And that's what worried him. He almost suspected it was the build up for a prank, but nothing like that happened all day. Was the blond not feeling well? Did something happen? The boy hadn't even added that annoying catch phrase 'Believe it' after anything he said.

Before Naruto could leave, set on his plan to warn the ANBU, his wrist was snagged by a thinly smiling Iruka. "Hey, Naruto," the man said in a fake cheery tone, "How about you and me go get some ramen together. It's been a while, after all."

Naruto scrunched his nose. That was a hard decision. Save the Forbidden Scroll and the Leaf's secrets, or go out for a few free bowls of his favorite food. Sadly, the village had to come first. "Sorry, Iruka-sensei, not right now. I have to go do something. Maybe later?" He added hoping the offer would still stand by the time he was done.

"O-of course, Naruto." Iruka said faintly. It was worse than he thought. Naruto was turning down ramen!

The boy grinned brightly. "Great! Well, bye Iruka-sensei!" With that he ran out the door, and Iruka left not long after to talk to the Hokage. If anyone knew what to do about Naruto, it would be him.

OoOo

It didn't take long for Naruto to pick up on the fact that any time he got close enough to an ANBU member that they could see him, they disappeared. "Dammit," He muttered, "Will I have to pin one down with a kunai to get anything done?"

"I wouldn't suggest it, we don't really take kindly to people who throw weapons at us." A strikingly familiar voice said behind him, and Naruto smiled, turning. He had felt the new comer pop up behind him, thus wasn't as shocked as he could have been (which probably disappointed the mask wearing man in front of him. Kakashi did like to shock people, after all.)

Naruto shrugged. "Not my problem. When someone is trying to tell you people something, it's not polite to run away. Makes for all sorts of misunderstandings."

Kakashi tilted his head. "You can understand why we're a bit... wary of you after what you pulled on the last few who weren't prepared." He pointed out. Naruto spent a moment trying to remember what pranks he had managed to pull on ANBU members, but soon gave it up for a lost job.

"What ever. Anyway, I just wanted to report a traitor at the Academy. You know, nothing of great importance." He said drolly.

That certainly had his former/future teacher's attention. "A traitor?"

Naruto nodded. "Yep. The taijutsu teacher Mizuki Toji is actually working for someone else. I just thought someone should know that." He reported. Of course he knew that the 'someone else' was Orochimaru, but not even the evil Sanin's name was common knowledge among Academy students. He watched as Kakashi's body language shifted, signifying that the man didn't quiet believe him, but would be taking it seriously enough to investigate it anyway. Once again Naruto commended himself on learning the art of reading boy language.

"And why would you tell the ANBU this, and not the Hokage like you normally would." Kakashi asked curiously. He knew that his teacher's son was the Hokage's favorite, and that the boy often visited the man.

Naruto sighed. "He wouldn't take it seriously. He would think it was a prank to fool him, or to get back at Mizuki or something. You guys on the other hand, wouldn't allow any tip to pass without at least a little bit of stalking-er- investigation." He told the silver haired jounin.

Kakashi nodded. It made sense, actually. "Alright, we'll look into it. But if it turns out you're messing with us for any reason, well..." He let the sentence hang ominously for a moment. "Anyway, if you notice anything else odd, just tell the Hokage that you want to speak to Inu, and he'll make sure we talk again."

Naruto almost snorted, but managed to cover it with a cough. _Inu_? Seriously? Were they even really trying to cover up the names of ANBU members? He bet that Itachi Uchiha had been known as weasel. That would make just as much sense. Instead of voicing his incredulity, he managed to choke out a strangled agreement and even through the mask he could tell Kakashi-sensei was looking at him oddly, before the man disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

It was a while later, while perusing the shops around his apartment in a henge, that Naruto realized he had sounded a bit more mature than he really should. The shop proprietor was frowning at him at the end of the long string of curses the boy had muttered.

OoOo

The next day after school found the boy accompanying his teacher to their favorite ramen stand. He had thought that his act was going perfectly, and thus was unprepared for the interrogation Iruka had prepared for the moment they had settled in. It started inconspicuously enough.

"Are you feeling all right, Naruto?"

Frowning in confusion at the oddly intent look on his favorite teacher's face, Naruto said, "I'm fine, Iruka-sensei. Why?"

Iruka tried to smile reassuringly. "Well, it's just that you've been pretty quiet over the last few days, and I'm just worried that you're coming down with something."

Naruto thumped his chest. "You know that wouldn't happen to me, Iruka-sensei! The fox stops all that." He waved off the concern, then froze, his eyes wide. He wasn't supposed to know about that. Crapcrapcrapcrap on a stick.

"Fox..." Iruka said slowly. "What fox?"

Naruto mentally scrambled for a plausible answer, and tried to find one that seemed at least a little bit plausible. "Fox? Who said anything about a fox?" He asked, feigning confusion.

Iruka's eyebrows furrowed, "You just-"

"You need to get your hearing checked, sensei. I didn't say anything about a fox." He covered, cutting off the chunin mid sentence. A light seemed to light up in Iruka's eyes, and Naruto almost groaned. The man leaned a little bit closer.

"Naruto, has anyone mentioned a fox to you lately? Is that why you're acting odd?" It would explain the odd introspective attitude the boy had lately, the man reasoned. Naruto would be depressed at the thought that he and the Kyuubi were one and the same.

Naruto was trying to figure out how to wriggle out of the fine mess he had created. Tell the truth (which would take far longer than he and Iruka could hang around here for) or lie like he's never lied before. Of course he chose the latter. "What is it with you and foxes today, Iruka-sensei?" He asked.

Iruka sighed and sat back. So it didn't have anything to do with Kyuubi then, though he was almost completely positive that Naruto had said the fox takes care of him getting sick. "It's nothing, Naruto. Nothing at all." Luckily for both of them, Teuchi chose that moment to deliver their ramen, and they forwent talking while they ate. Iruka forgot about the rest of his questions in the wake of the panic that had set in when he thought he heard Naruto mention a fox.

Naruto ate quickly of course, eating far beyond his fill like he used to. Iruka and Teuchi would expect no less. Finally when he felt like he was about to burst he let out a satiated sigh and grinned at Iruka. "That was good ramen, eh, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka nodded mutely, and payed the bill. He was no closer to finding out what was wrong with Naruto before, but it seemed, at least for now, the blond was back to normal.

OoOo

Two days later, the day before the genin exam, Naruto came into the room to find Iruka standing alone at the front of the classroom looking solomn. The boy had a feeling he knew what this was about, and sent a smile at his teacher before sitting down. He wondered if Iruka-sensei would explain the real reason for Mizuki's sudden disappearance, or if he would gloss it over some how.

When every student had filled the classroom, Iruka called their attention to him. It didn't escape his notice that once again Naruto was quiet, but at least he seemed to be paying attention today.

"Well, class, I have some bad news." He announced, "It seems that Mizuki-sensei won't be joining us for tomorrow's exams." He continued, and a worried murmur rippled through the room. Naruto didn't even blink.

One girl raised her hand. "What happened to him, sensei? Is he sick?" She asked.

Iruka shook his head sadly. He had wanted to protect his students from the truth, but he had been ordered not to lie to them. "No, he's not sick. He's been taken by the ANBU to be interrogated under the suspicion of treason." For once he missed the self satisfied nod Naruto gave, and questioning continued in that vein for a bit before he forced the class back on task. They did have a big test tomorrow.

* * *

There you have it, chapter 1. I thought maybe I could try my hand at a chaptered fic. Thank you to the people who reviewed, it's y'all who gave me the courage to post this. Any tips and tricks y'all have for me would be appreciated. Feel free to speak your mind in reviews!

No one knows what Mizuki's real surname is, so I found one that people tended to use for him, and ran with it.

See y'all next week.


	3. Ripples

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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_**Chapter 2**_

_'I miss Sakura.' _Naruto thought idly. Not the loud, useless, pink thing that was currently screaming in the face of an equally loud blonde girl, but the competent, fun, mentally stable woman she would become. And he would _make sure_ she was that woman again, even if everything else changed.

It was the day of the genin exam. Naruto had only been in the past a week and things had already changed a little.

Mizuki, of course, was the biggest change for now. He wouldn't have the chance to use innocent and desperate students in a stupid bid for a higher rank than he deserved. But there were little things too. Naruto had not skipped class in the week he'd been back, which had all of the class on edge, waiting for some sort of prank. It was actually kind of funny. A prank in its own way.

Of course he ad things to set into motion long before what he felt was the main reason for him being here again. He planned to save Haku and Zabuza. Those two were people he felt that he could have connected with if they hadn't died so soon. Then he had to somehow reveal to Sasuke that Itachi had only killed the clan on orders because they were treasonous bastards. That would negate any and all reasons the other boy would have for following the ideals of the snake freak. Which would leave Naruto to deal with him and Akatsuki in peace.

The only thing was, what was there to do after? What if, even as he sat here, there was some other group that had plans set in motion to mess with him, a group that he wouldn't know about because he hadn't lived long enough for them to come out of the shadows? Or maybe...

"Uzumaki Naruto!" The boy was ripped out of increasingly distressing thoughts by voice of the proctor. The man's exasperated tone and the giggles of his classmates told Naruto that he had been calling him for a while.

"Uh, yeah, sorry!" He pulled himself out of the chair and followed the man's directions to another room to start the first part of the exam, the written part. Sitting in the lone desk in front of a panel of serious faced teachers, Naruto looked down at the paper. The problems were simple, and the situations it presented hardly practical or realistic. At what point would any ninja worth his kunai _not_ have any sort of weapon at hand? Really.

The man who had directed him to the room cleared his throat to catch his attention. "Uzumaki, since it is well known how... mischievous you are, precautions have been taken to assure that you can't cheat at all. You have half an hour to complete as much of the test as you can, at which point you will be escorted by the next proctor to begin the stealth, weapons, and taijutsu portions of the test. Any questions?"

Precautions to prevent cheating? Naruto certainly didn't remember any such thing happening the first time around. He wondered what he had done to cause it. Shaking his head, Naruto picked up the brush they provided, and began the test. It wasn't until he was done and it had only been five minutes that it occurred to him that he probably should have gotten some of it wrong or left some blank. These men were expecting him to be the dunce, and would wonder what had changed.

Ah well, he could explain it away by just saying he studied. There was nothing fatal about how he did in this exam, nothing hinging on his results, so he would breeze through mindlessly and use his brain capacity for more important things.

"Is there something the matter, Uzumaki?" The proctor prompted, and Naruto looked up at the man. He was the first person besides Iruka-sensei that Naruto had seen in the past week look at him with anything other than contempt. Of course he lacked the paternal warmth that the before mentioned teacher always held, but even so the complete and utter indifference in his eyes soothed the boy slightly.

"I'm done." Naruto said simply, handing the man the test. Instead of the suspicious looks the people of the panel were shooting him, the tall, dark haired man just nodded impassively.

"We shall move on then."

Even the first time around, when he had been an idiot, Naruto had earned the top score on the stealth portion of the exam. He had to be pretty good, to wear orange and yet still be able to escape the clutches of the various ninja he had pranked as a child.

His taijutsu was irritatingly thrown off. Even though he only had to prove proficiency in the Academy style and not show the style he had come up with, his sie was a problem. Though he had been the shortest of his age group eight years in the future, he still grew enough that his center of balance was off by a bit. He still did well, but not as well as he thought he would. And if the Academy style was that mangled, his own style would be useless unless he practiced whenever he could.

Weapons was no issue. A simple test of throwing kunai and shuriken at the dummies and aiming for a certain body part. Easy. The only thing that would make it even slightly worth consideration to the time-traveler was if it also included senbon, which were harder to aim and required preciseness that had also troubled the blond. But no, senbon were not taught in the Academy. They left that to the jounin senseis to take care of. Which of course meant that Naruto learned by himself while traveling with Jiraiya.

"Very good, Uzumaki." Was that... a slight amount of approval in the teacher's voice? Naruto blinked confusedly at him. The proctor didn't seem to notice the boy's shock. "We'll move inside now for the final part, the jutsu portion."

Naruto nodded dumbly. Then the words registered and he bit his lip. This was the only part he was worried about. He could completely bomb it and still graduate because of his high scores in the other portions, and then that would keep Iruka-sensei from being suspicious about anything but... he didn't want to lose this new possible ally by seeming inept in the most important part of being a ninja.

Looking at the back of the dark haired stranger, Naruto made a choice. He would excel at this, as he did at every portion. It would be easier to placate Iruka-sensei than it would to gain back the slight amount of esteem this teacher showed him.

Nodding to himself, Naruto walked into the room with a confident stride and a goal.

He had no idea how much that choice would change things for him and the path he was trying to guide the future into taking.

* * *

It was an understatement to say Hiroyuki Imamura was not happy to be assigned to watching the kids at the Academy fumble over the genin exam. He was brought in as a temporary replacement for the traitorous Mizuki Toji, and as he watched the children bumble through the tests, his patience grew thin while his respect for the poor chuunin that were forced to teach this inept bunch grew stronger. He had almost lost hope in the future generation until a name cropped up on the list that was almost as familiar to him as his own name. After all, one couldn't go more than a few hours here in the village without the child being mentioned. If not by name, then by predicament. As a personal guard to the Hokage, though, Hiroyuki knew that the kid had nothing to do with the demon, wasn't the fox reborn or something.

That didn't mean that he was overly fond of the orange wearing oddball. Just that he didn't hate his every breath like the rest of the villagers.

"Uzumaki Naruto." He announced, his eyes zeroing in on the child, who was currently staring into space with a vacant, slightly troubled expression. He had to call the inattentive child's name a few more times, while the idiots around him giggled more with each successive calling. Finally the kid seemed to snap back to reality, and grinned sheepishly. He ignored the blond kids apology and began to lead him to where the testing would take place.

He didn't miss the kid's bemused and slightly scornful expression when he got a moment before the test began to read the questions. Clearing his throat loudly while the panel glared at the kid, Hiroyuki began the instructions, which were a bit different than any of the others he had given that day. "Uzumaki, since it is well known how... mischievous you are, precautions have been taken to assure that you can't cheat at all. You have half an hour to complete as much of the test as you can, at which point you will be escorted by the next proctor to begin the stealth, weapons, and taijutsu portions of the test. Any questions?" The kid shook his head and began to write. Hiroyuki almost settled in for a long wait when the sound of the brush sliding over paper stopped.

"Is there something wrong, Uzumaki?" He asked. The kid just held out the test.

"I'm done."

Well that was... unexpected. It was quick, correct from what Hiroyuki could tell, and by the expressions on the faces of the chuunins, there was no obvious cheating. Good for the kid.

"We shall move on then."

By the time they were done outside, Hiroyuki was entirely impressed. The kid was so masterful at stealth that the teachers running that portion couldn't find him, and he didn't show up until they announced the test was over. His weapons test was deadly accurate, and the kid seemed to have a vindictive streak and very good ears. One of the chuunin made a derisive comment to another, and a kunai landed in the crotch of the dummy while the kid shot the two chuunin a meaningful look. They wisely shut up after that.

The only problem was taijutsu, though it was barely worth mentioning. The kid just seemed to be over compensating for something. He still passed handily, though. Hiroyuki could feel nothing but grudging respect for the young man.

"Good job, Uzumaki." Hiroyuki said before they left to go back into the building. The kid was oddly quiet after that.

* * *

Naruto walked into the room with slight trepidation. There was Iruka-sensei, smiling gently like always, and severely frowning chuunin beside him. The juxtaposition was oddly striking then.

At this point he was almost desperate to add one more person to the list that would look at him with any other emotion than hatred. His immunity to the stifling anger of the village towards him had weakened over his three year trip, and was completely obliterated when he saved the village and became a hero. It wasn't that he wanted everyone to love him again, he just needed to be reminded why he had saved this village in the first place.

The man that had been leading him through the test took a seat right beside Iruka-sensei and placed his chin on steepled hands.

"Right, Naruto. First you need to perform the replacement jutsu." Iruka instructed him, and Naruto did just that flawlessly with an empty chair that had been sitting across the room. "Good! Now the henge." At this Iruka-sensei flinched, obviously expecting the lewd version that the time-traveler had employed often.

Instead, Naruto surprised the man by simply asking, "Of who?"

"What?" The scarred chuunin asked blankly.

"Who should the henge be of?" Naruto prompted patiently.

Iruka sent an inscrutable look at him, before motioning to the still unnamed proctor beside him. "How about Imamura-sensei?"

Naruto nodded, his hands already zooming through the proper handsigns for appearance's sake (he had been able to do the jutsu without any handseals at all for a few years now) and turned into an exact copy of the now named proctor.

Iruka smiled, noting that everything about the jutsu was as it should be on his paper. Now would be what he thought would be the difficult part for the boy.

"Could you please demonstrate the clone jutsu? There have to be two viable clones."

He swore his jaw almost hit the floor when three Narutos stood before him. This was the first time in the years he had taught the boy that he had seen him perform the jutsu correctly.

"P-pass?" He managed to stutter, and the boy grabbed a hitai-ate off the table in front of him. He surprised him again when, instead of replacing the goggles that still resided on his head even after the blond's wardrobe change, Naruto instead tied it around his bicep. Grinning and waving at his still favorite teacher, Naruto left the room.

He didn't notice the dark contemplative eyes that followed him.

* * *

Naruto almost stumbled back when he was assaulted by pink the moment he stepped out of the exam room, but managed to hold his ground.

Sakura took one look at the goggles still on his forehead and began laughing in his face. "You stupid idiot! You failed for the third time, didn't you? Dead last." She taunted. Naruto only raised one eyebrow.

"Haruno-san, I see you passed. And here I thought ninja are supposed to be more observant than this. If you would notice, my hitai-ate is on my arm. I passed easily enough." He said coldly. This girl, this... _chit_ was not Sakura-chan. She had the potential to be her, but wasn't yet. He brushed passed her barely repressing a sneer. He had forgotten what a self righteous idiot his friend had been at this age.

Her standing there meant that Sasuke hadn't completed his tests. He actually felt sorry for the other boy if that was the first thing that greeted him as well.

Naruto had no idea that his snubbing of the girl would result in some more changes in the timeline.

Originally, because Sasuke had beat Naruto out the door the first time, Sakura had greeted the broody boy with obsessive exuberance which had firmly steered the boy from wanting anything to do with her like nothing before had managed. Now, though, the pinkette was still reeling from the sudden flip of Naruto's attitude to her when Sasuke walked through the door that she just meekly congratulated him and walked away, her self-confidence for the day shot. Sasuke would later remember that moment, and the effects would ripple lightly through time.

* * *

Hiroyuki sat back with a grim, but satisfied smile on his face. He had thought that his stint as a legal arguer during his chuunin years would have amounted to naught, but it was helping him now while he researched, and would most likely help him later.

He had found exactly what he needed in the dusty tome on the table in front of him, and it had only been an hour since he made to decision to look for it. Which gave him a little leeway in the ime limit for the next part. Talking the Hokage into agreeing.

Hiroyuki passed through the tower easily, his clearance passing him through barriers that would have kept others out. Finally he stood before the door of the main office. The dark haired man didn't give himself time to reconsider, he just walked through the doorway.

Bowing lowly to the wizened old man that sat in the large seat almost obscured by the papers on the desk, Hiroyuki took a deep breath in preparation to what he thought would be a difficult argument.

He almost let the shock show on his face when his request was granted with a simple 'okay' only a minute later, after a brief explanation of his plan.

He had no idea that the boy in question was almost as precious to the Hokage as the man's own grandson, and that the Sandaime would accept any offers for help the kid could get (that didn't stem from Danzo, anyway).

And so, in only an hour and fifteen minutes most of the future as Naruto knew it was obliterated and replaced with new possibilities and choices.

The question was, would that make the time-traveler's goal easier or harder to accomplish from here on out?

* * *

So, a few things will be changing from here, mainly because of Naruto's actions. Though he's mentally twenty, he still doesn't fully think things through. Sorry for the super late update. My sister's been in the hospital and I've been helping take care of her kids. I hope this makes up for it, and the next chapter _should_ be on time this weekend. How do y'all like Hiroyuki Imamura so far? He's obviously an OC, but I hope not to make him any sort of Gary Stu, because we;ll be seeing a ton of him. If he gets even vaguely Stu like, warn me and I'll go back to the drawing board.

Lionna


	4. Fun

_****_Disclaimer: Don't own.

_**Chapter 3**_

"So..." Iruka started, unsure how to put his questions. He and Naruto were once again in the small ramen stand that the boy adored. It was only a few hours after the boy had blown through his exams like they were nothing but an inconvenience.

Naruto sighed. He knew what Iruka-sensei wanted to know, and also realized why the chuunin was having problems spitting it out. For the first time since his unplanned time travel, Naruto looked, really looked, at his teacher, and wondered how much he could trust him.

Iruka was taken slightly aback when those calculating blue eyes focused on him. He sat deathly still, unknowingly pulling on the same instincts that prey who came under the gae of predators used. He wasn't even breathing. They sat there like that for almost a full minute. Then the eyes turned away again, and he quickly and quietly sucked a breath into his oxygen starved lungs.

Naruto sighed again (he seemed to be doing a lot of that today) and stood up, motioning for the man to follow. They hadn't even ordered their ramen, and now they were leaving.

Iruka eyed the boy cautiously. Suspiciously. After all, there wasn't a single reason he could think of for Naruto to leave a ramen stand. Could he be in the company of an imposter. If that was true, it begged the question of why someone would pretend to be a genin (or academy student, as Naruto had been acting odd for a week before the exam)?

Noticing the man's reluctance, Naruto frowned. "I know what you're thinking, sensei. All I'm asking is that you come to my apartment with me. What I'm going to tell you isn't for..." He paused and scowled at a man who was listening in to their conversation, "Unfriendly ears." He bit out.

The chuunin finally nodded and stood up from the counter. The two made their way to the newly appointed genin's apartment in silent contemplation. One trying to comprehend the reason a person would impersonate a genin, the other trying to come up with a way to explain his impromptu time-travel without looking like a lunatic.

The blond let them in with the key when they came to the door of his rundown apartment, which deactivated a plethora of traps that would befall upon hapless intruders if they were active.

Before the genin could close the door once they entered he found a kunai at his throat. Pushing the wooden door shut, he looked into the unsure eyes of his childhood teacher.

"Who are you?" Iruka asked, proud that his voice only wavered slightly.

Naruto wasn't quite expecting this. but it was better than the man immediately putting the knife in his ribs. "Naruto Uzumaki... sort of."

The kunai pressed harder, on the verge of breaking skin. "Sort of?" The man ground out.

"I'm not exactly the Naruto Uzumaki you knew from before. Could you put that away, so I can explain without the fear of having my throat cut?" Naruto pleaded slightly. Of course he knew several ways to disarm Iruka, or even use the weapon against him, but he wanted this to be civil. He needed someone to know the truth, and who better than a cherished childhood friend?

Iruka stood there silently for a moment more, before pulling away. He kept the weapon in his hand, but it was no long pressed against the kid's trachea. Naruto quickly moved past him into the living room. "Come on, you'll need to be sitting down for this!" He called over his shoulder.

Two hours, three pots of tea, and numerous disbelieving outcries later, Iruka knew the whole story, and sat back on the couch in a mild state of shock.

"So... you've traveled back in time?" He asked weakly.

"Yep." Naruto confirmed, sipping the cup of cold tea in his hands.

"You're really 19?"

"Right."

"Sasuke defects?"

"Not if I can help it."

"And you're the son of the fourth Hokage."

"Not that shocking if you think about it. Not too many people about with blond hair and blue eyes. So I was either related to him or a Yamanaka." Naruto shrugged.

"Right. Okay. Yeah. I can... I can deal with this. No problem. Stranger things happen every day, right?" The man asked.

Naruto raised one eyebrow. "If you can think of one thing stranger than this, than I'll make sure you're the next Hokage." He said sardonically. Iruka had no choice but to laugh a little at that.

Finally he stood up. The blond looked up at him with slightly worried eyes, afraid for some reason that the teacher would reject him (probably because the chuunin was so... good, and Naruto had just told him the story of his whole life, including the various deaths he had either directly or indirectly caused) and Iruka couldn't help but smile. "So you're not exactly the kid I've seen grow up, but you were him at some point. And you're still him, just a lot more world weary. Don't worry, Naruto, you're still the brother I never had, and that will never change."

His point was proven when he was tackled by a blond torpedo that was crying, and thanking him, and hugging him.

He left smiling, with a lot to think about. He had a feeling that the future was going to be fun.

OoOo

The next morning Iruka shambled into the academy, yawning tiredly. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, thinking not only about Naruto's incredible story, but also about the teams he had to structure. He had only needed to make some minor changes to the list of teams that he had already begun halfway through the school year. Of course he let Naruto have his old teammates, but that didn't change the fact that he also had the other students to take care of. Some that he had placed on certain teams didn't pass the tests, and he had to do some shuffling to fill the gaps. All in all he was happy with the teams.

Only ten minutes after he had settled in his desk with a steaming cup of coffee in front of him Naruto arrived and took his seat. He watched the time traveler take out a new deck of cards and begin to expertly shuffle them. After a minute of that, he just gave in to curiosity and said in a questioning tone, "Cards?"

Naruto grinned. He would have no problem with explaining this to anyone. "I had them commissioned when I first came back in time. They were finally finished this morning. Or course, I had to use a henge to get the shop proprietor to take my commission but..." He shrugged. "Whatever. Anyone, they're not normal cards." To prove this, one seemed to jump from the deck he was still shuffling, and whipped through the air to bury its edge into the desk in front of Iruka. "Each of them is made of a very thin, almost paper like metal. But it's very very strong, and sharp as hell. I designed them myself um... in your way of thinking, about seven years from now." He laughed. "They're a bit of a joke, because people were always calling me the joker of Konoha, and also Konoha's number one surprising ninja. Joker, cards, not to mention what sort of enemy would suspect that the cards I'm shuffling were also weapons."

He looked fondly down at the deck. "These things have saved my neck more times than I can count." He admitted.

"But how can you shuffle them without getting cut?" Iruka asked, studying the card that had been in his desk.

"Oh, that was a tricky thing for me to work out, but Sakura figured out a way to do it almost as soon as I explained the problem. I coat my hands in an ultra thin layer of chakra, and that protects them. You can't see the layering, so it just looks like I'm casually shuffling cards. And they're great for boring guard duty because, you know, they're cards." Naruto laughed. He caught the card that Iruka-sensei threw back at him and easily assimilated it back with its mates.

Iruka smiled. "So I take it that your control is a lot better than it used to be, because that would take a lot of focus if you don't have sharp control on your chakra." Naruto just nodded. They had only wrapped up the subject when someone they didn't expect walked into the room. It was the guy who had replaced Mizuki during the genin test the day before. Ima-something.

Iruka frowned, "Imamura-san, how can I help you?" He asked politely.

The dark haired jounin nodded slightly in greeting. "I'm here to talk to Uzumaki-san, if you don't mind Iruka-san." He said.

Iruka shot Naruto a confused look, but was met with an expression matching his own. This was something the boy hadn't been expecting then. "Right, of course. Just make sure he's back in time for the team announcement."

Naruto had no idea what the man could want. He hadn't even known him in the other timeline. Of course he had breeze through the exam in order to gain this man's respect, but he kind of expected their interaction to end there. He followed Imamura-san to an empty, unused room, not quite sure what to prepare for.

Imamura-san stood there and silently stared at him for a minute before he seemed ready to speak. "Do you know what an apprenticeship is, Uzumaki-san?" He finally asked. Naruto nodded dumbly, wondering where this was going. "What do you know of them?"

"Well, firstly it's a title used by civilians who are training for a trade. But sometimes when one ninja wants to train a younger, more inexperienced one in a certain skill, he takes him on as his apprentice." Naruto had a bit of an idea, now, where the older man was going to take this.

Imamura nodded. "You're right, of course. And now I have a very important thing for you to consider, and feel free to think about it for a while before answering. How would you like to be my apprentice to train in my clan's style of kenjutsu."

Naruto gulped. He had no training in kenjutsu, and was sorely tempted, but there were a few things that held him from saying yes right out. "What about my team? I'll need a team to do missions and to go through the chuunin and jounin exams, won't I?"

The dark haired man nodded. "Do not worry. In that respect you will be like any other genin, and have a full team along with another teacher. I will stay by your side and teach you only what I see fit for you to learn in order to support the style, leaving the rest of your training to your other sensei."

Naruto smiled widely. This, this would be an invaluable opportunity. "Then I accept wholeheartedly, and thank you humbly from the bottom of my heart for not only considering me, but actually gving me the honor of this offer." He said formally, bowing. Then frowned. "But... not that I'm questioning you or anything, don't clans usually keep their techniques for anything, including kenjutsu, within the clan?" He asked.

For a moment he saw something sad and raw flash in his new teacher's eyes before it was gone. "My clan... well, there is no longer a clan. They were completely wiped out. I am the only one left."

Naruto gulped, hoping it wasn't the Kyuubi attack that had extinguished the clan. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" He was cut off when Imamura-sensei raised his hand.

"It's alright. You had a right to wonder. It was no fault but their murderer's. They attempted to keep a family heirloom from falling into the wrong hands, and died by those hands instead." He ran his hand through his hair in slight agitation, before shrugging it off. "Enough about that, for now. If you pass my tests and if you're actually able to become my apprentice, maybe I'll tell you more about it later. For now, it's almost time for the team assignments." Imamura moved aside, motioning for the boy to proceed him out the door. Naruto moved past him, silent in thought.

So now something big had changed. The question was, how much would this effect the set out path before them?

He walked towards the classroom the other new genin were in in silent contemplation, but pasted a smile on his face when he opened the door.

When he had left, no one except Iruka and himself had been in the room, but now almost every other classmate was there, with the exception of Sakura and Ino, who he remembered had both come in later in the previous timeline. He sat down in the seat he had vacated (luckily far away from Sasuke, so there would be no possibility of the last time being repeated) and waited patiently, taking his cards out of their specially designed and reinforced sleeve to shuffle them again.

A few minutes later Sakura and Ino came bursting through, fought for a few moments, and finally sat down and the room quieted. Naruto rolled his eyes at their antics, and then trained his gaze on his favorite childhood teacher.

Iruka read off each team concisely, mentally preparing himself to see most of these kids back in his classroom at the start of the next semester, or just on the streets as civilians. He had gleaned from Naruto's story the night before which of these teams moved past the secondary genin test. "Team Seven; Naruto Uzumaki," The boy smiled at him, and continued to manipulate the lethal cards, "Sakura Haruno," The girl wailed in disappointment, "And Sasuke Uchiha." The disappointing noise turned into one of triumph, while the boy himself sat impassive. Iruka mentally wished his favorite student luck.

Naruto sat back with a satisfied smile. He knew that they would be on a team together, but was glad to have that confirmed through this time. Now he just had to figure out a way to maybe get Sai and Yamato early, and including Kakashi, Team Seven would entirely be together again.

He pulled a random card from the deck, and smiled at the Joker. Maybe he could make this at least a little fun.

OoOo

Half an hour later he and the rest of the current team seven were the only ones still left in the room. Other teams had already been collected by their new teachers, and Iruka had left after announcing all of the teams. Naruto grunted, and glanced out the window. A flash of sunlight on metal caught his eye, and he smirked. That man, what a freaking stalker.

He pulled himself up from the desk and began to walk towards the door. Sakura, who had been fawning over a brooding Sasuke, screeched at him, "Where do you think you're going, you idiot? We have to wait for our teacher!"

Naruto barely managed to bite back a retort that probably would have set the girl to tears, and instead answered in a pleasant tone. "Well, the teacher is late, and if it's who I think it is, he won't even be here for another hour and a half. I don't know about you, but my stomach says it's lunchtime, so that's where I'm going. You're both welcome to join if you want." He offered.

The pink haired girl scoffed. "And why would we want to go to lunch with you?"

"Well, for one, it's my treat. For another, whether you like it or not Haruno-san, we're going to be teammates for the foreseeable future. We might as well eat together and make a little effort to get to know each other." The old him would have thought that would have been a good enough reason for both of them to agree, but he knew now he would need a bit more ammo. "I hear there's a new sushi place that opened up that serves pretty good rice balls, so that's where I'm heading."

With that, Sasuke managed to disengage his arm from the tight grip of the girl and move towards the door. Naruto fought back the grin that threatened to reveal his manipulation. He figured that a free meal of one of his favorite foods would sway the Uchiha. Sakura, seeing that her 'one true love' was going, quickly followed at his heels like a good pet. The blond rolled his eyes and took up the last position out the door.

He led his teammates towards the restaurant, talking about it to fill the silence. "I think it only opened about two weeks ago. The guy who owns it used to work at another sushi shop but decided to try his hand at owning his own business. Oh!" He spotted a sign for a public bathroom. "I'll be right back. You guys stay here, all right?" Without waiting for an answer he ran off. He knew the sushi shop owner would refuse to service him, even though he was in the presence of the Uchiha, so he needed a private place to don a henge so that no one would know it was him.

A minute later a boy with dark brown hair and green eyes walked out off the bathroom and over to Team Seven. "Sorry about that." He said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Now where were we?"

"Who are you?" Sasuke grunted.

The boy blinked, then smacked himself in the forehead. "Right, sorry! Forgot to tell you that I need a henge to eat at the sushi shop. The shop owner won't serve me otherwise." He told them.

"Naruto?" Sakura said incredulously.

The boy nodded. "Got it in one. So, off we go!"

"You said it's only been open a couple weeks right? What kind of trouble did you cause to already be banned?" The pink haired girl sneered.

Naruto glanced coldly at her. "None at all." He said, and did not explain more.

They made it to the shop, and spent lunch making polite conversation. Well, Naruto tried, Sakura just snubbed his attempts, and Sasuke occasionally grunted. By the time they had made it back to the classroom almost an hour later, they knew nothing more about each other than when they started out, and the blond was beginning to get frustrated. How was he supposed to change the future if these two were too stubborn to at least talk?

He sat back down in his seat away from them and fumed quietly for the next half hour, until Kakashi finally showed his (portion of a) face.

Naruto thought sarcastically, '_Well this is going to be fuuuun.'_

__OoOo

Kakashi Hatake watched his new students from the tree outside the academy window for half an hour after the brunette teacher had assigned them. So fa what he had observed wasn't too promising, but was almost exactly what he had expected.

The blond was completely ostracized by his teammates, sitting away from them and quietly playing with a deck of cards. He planned to stay in that tree for a full two hours, hoping to see some change, when the blond looked out the window, right at him, and smirked.

What the hell? A normal genin shouldn't have seen him at all, much less a below average one that all his files claimed he was. Then, instead of calling him out, the boy stood, and convinced the other two to go to lunch with him.

Kakashi, now interested in the boy's actions, followed the three from a discreet distance, traveling from rooftop to rooftop. At on point the boy walked away from his teammates, and another rejoined them.

It was embarrassing how long it took him to figure out that the new boy was new at all, only the other one under a henge. Almost a full second!

He had been checking up on his sensei's kid about once a year, and thus far the kid was uninteresting. Loud, excitable, and mischievous. Shunned as the container of the Kyuubi, but there was nothing the jounin could do about that. He had given up the kid as a lost cause, doomed to mediocrity, but now... there was something different. Now the kid had promise.

This... this could be fun.

* * *

I'm so so so so so sorry! I have a very valid excuse. Blame my puppy, because he tipped a glass of tea into my poor computer and completely fried my baby. I had to wait two months for her to come out of the shop! Anyway. I'll maybe try to update a few more times soon. I'm not making any promises though, because we're moving towards finals season in high school. Anyway, tell me what you think, point out errors, whatever. I love you all, and once again I'm sorry. Hopefully, barring disaster, see you soon!


	5. Stalked For the Greater Good

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

After two hours of leaving them to their own devices, and watching how they interacted, Kakashi finally decided it was time to show himself to his new team. With any luck these brats would figure out the goal of the next day's test, and he would be their teacher for the foreseeable future.

Deciding to forgo the flashy entrance of a teleportation (always a good way to impress new young ninja) he decided to get to the classroom the old fashioned way. He walked into it.

All three children looked at him, and then the pink haired girl stood, pointed and accusing finger at him, and shouted, "You're late! What kind of example are you showing to your team?" She scolded.

"Haruno-san. Please do not talk that way to our teacher before he even opens his mouth." The blond one sighed.

"Hn." Was all the Uchiha felt was appropriate to interject.

Kakashi looked at all of them, the red faced girl, the bored looking blond, and the broody kid, and said with a smile, "Hm.. how can I say this? My first impression is... I hate you."

"What?" Another outburst from the girl. Her file did indicate she was loud and assertive, but that didn't really prepare him for this.

"You shouted at him before he could even introduce himself, what did you think he was going to say? That he loves your hair?" His sensei's son asked derisively. The girl, Sakura if he remembered correctly, turned to address her teammate, but before she could go into tirade mode Kakashi interrupted, telling them to follow him to the roof.

He leaned casually against the railing while the three settled in to sit. The blond one took out a deck of cards that Kakashi had seen him playing with before and began to shuffle them absent mindedly.

"How about we start with introductions?" He asked, and the girl frowned.

"What do you want to know?" She inquired.

The jounin shrugged and said, "How about your likes, dislikes, your dreams for the future and things like that?" He offered.

The girl perked up. "Why don't you go first?"

The man smiled. "Oh... me? Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake... I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes... Dreams for the future... hm. And I have lots of hobbies."

Sakura scowled. "So the only thing we learned is his name?" She whispered to her teammates.

Kakashi clapped once to get their attention again, "Now it's your turn, how about you first pinkie?"

Sakura smiled brightly. "Well my name is Sakura Haruno and the thing I like is... well the person I like is..." She glanced over at the Uchiha and blushed and giggled. "And um, my dream for the future..." Again another glance at the boy, this time accompanied by a shrill squeal. "What I dislike is Naruto!" She then humphed.

The blond just snorted and said, "Trust me, Haruno-san, the feeling is mutual."

Kakashi sighed. The way it was going, it didn't look like this team would pass his test either. "Alright, now you." He pointed at the Uchiha.

The boy spoke from behind dramatically folded hands. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are a lot of things I dislike and I don't really like anything. And... I can't really call it a dream, but my ambition is the resurrection of my clan and..." Here he paused, for a dramatic effect most likely. "To kill a certain man."

Kakashi bit back the urge to roll his eyes. _'Like I thought.'_ "And lastly, your turn blondie."

The kid smiled. "Well, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, my precious people, and my cards. I dislike bigoted people, cats, and the three minutes it takes for ramen to cook. My dream..." At this the kid's eyes grew serious and distant, "Is to keep all of the promises I've made to my precious people."

Kakashi lifted one eyebrow. He couldn't figure this kid out, from his files up until the graduation test, the kid is depicted as a below average loud mouth with a problem with authority figures. But the boy sitting in front of him was also the same one who revealed the traitor who had wormed his way into the Academy. Which persona was real?

Shaking off his thoughts, he crossed his arms. "Right, well we're done with introductions. Tomorrow the real deal starts. We're going to do survival training!" He announced.

"Training?" The Uchiha scoffed.

The jounin smirked. "Well, it's not going to be a normal sort of training, your opponent will be me."

"Why?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Well, you may freak out when I tell you this but... Out of the twenty seven graduated students, only nine will become genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This training is a very difficult exam with a fail rate of sixty six percent!" He said, and sat back to watch the reactions. The girl looked scared. The Uchiha looked anxious but determined. And the Uzumaki just... smiled. What in the world was wrong with this kid? Shouldn't he at least be worried or something? Maybe he was too cocky... though he didn't really give off that sort of vibe.

"Anyway, tomorrow you have to show your real skills at the training ground. Bring all the ninja tools you have at your disposal." He moved to leave, then added as a seeming after thought, "And skip breakfast. You might throw up."

OoOo

Naruto flinched when Sakura began yelling at Kakashi-sensei. Yeah, the guy was over two hours late, but that didn't mean he couldn't pin her ass to the wall for disrespect. He couldn't believe he ever acted with that same amount of disregard to their powerful teacher.

He scolded her lightly. Then Kakashi-sensei said the same exact thing he did in the other time line upon their first meeting, and Naruto bit back a laugh. The guy was as blunt as ever.

Sakura's outrage at his assessment irritated Naruto, and he chided her again. Really, she was such a self-righteous child. He was prepared for her loud and insulting comeback, but luckily Kakashi-sensei cut her off.

They made their way to the roof, and sat in a position familiar to Naruto. And then it was time for the introductions. Kakashi in his usual unhelpful way reeled off about himself saying absolutely nothing of use, though the time traveler mentally filled in what the man didn't say.

_"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like my dogs, miso soup, and Icha Icha books. I dislike tempura, traitors, and people who abandon their team. My hobbies are training, staring at the Memorial stone, and reading Icha Icha Paradise."_ He thought.

He glanced at Sakura when she whispered, "So the only thing we learned is his name?" _'You learn a whole lot more if you pay attention to what's not being said.' _Naruto mused.

He quirked up an eyebrow when th girl expressed her dislike for him in her own introduction. "Trust me, Haruno-san, the feeling is mutual." He drawled.

Before he knew it, it was his turn. He sighed when he revealed his dream. He had to accomplish it. All of it. Sasuke couldn't be let to defect, Sakura had to be pointed in the right direction. Hell, he had even broken a small promise to Kakashi-sensei when he died. He had to go to the man's birthday party! Not to mention becoming Hokage, which was a promise he had made to himself, Tsunade, and everyone who believed in him.

After the whole 'Sixty six percent of your classmates will fail, don't eat breakfast,' spiel, Kakashi left. Naruto smiled because there was no one who could fuck with people's heads quite like the man.

He parted with his new/old teammates at the door, and went to walk to his apartment but stopped dead because an ANBU member who had not been there a moment before was now in his way. An lo and behold, it was 'Inu'.

"Hello, Inu-san." He said pleasantly, giving off no indication that he knew exactly who the man was.

"Uzumaki-san. I've been instructed to escort you to the Hokage Tower." Kakashi said.

Naruto tilted his head, thinking for a moment why the old man would want to see him, and when he realized it he almost hit himself in the forehead. Of course Jiji would want to talk to him. Other than Iruka-sensei he was the only one who knew Naruto well enough currently to notice something odd. He would have gotten the reports on the graduated genin and seen the unusually high score that Naruto had managed. Not to mention that Imamura-sensei would have had to go to him to request permission to take on Naruto as a student. He berated himself mentally for being an idiot, but outwardly calmly said, "Of course, Inu-san. Lead the way."

They made it to the Hokage Tower quickly, avoiding any foot traffic by taking the high route. Naruto vaguely wondered if the civilians ever complained formally about the ninja who liberally used their roofs as a road.

They easily made it to the inner most part of the Tower, bypassing several barriers until they made it to the door that lead to the Hokage's office. Naruto remembered that while Tsunade had been in office the poor thing had to be repaired quite often.

Kakashi knocked and the Hokage, in his omniscient way, called calmly, "Come in, Naruto."

Naruto glanced over at his teacher, but the man had disappeared. He entered the office alone and smiled at the wizened old man who was sitting on the floor painting what looked to be a seal of some sort.

"Yo, old man." Naruto greeted easily, quashing the urge to tackle the man in a hug. He doubted it would be well received. He had missed the old guy, though, and had mourned him just as heartbroken as his grandson had.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was a powerful man, even at his advanced age, and one could almost feel his aura of strength.

"Hello, Naruto." He greeted easily. "Why don't you sit down?"

Naruto grinned and plopped himself on the floor right next to the man. "So, jiji, what was so important that you had to send ANBU to come pick me up?" He asked in feigned curiosity. He was preparing himself for whatever the man would say next.

The Sandaime looked him in the eye and asked point blank. "What's your plan for dealing with the Akatsuki?"

Naruto had been prepared for a lot of things to come out of the Hokage's mouth, but nothing on Earth could have made him ready for that.

OoOo

Kakashi was once again out of his ANBU uniform. He was standing on top of the Hokage monument across from a man he had no reason before now to speak to. He rubbed his neck and smiled. "Sorry I'm late, I had to help a kitten get home." He explained.

The man shook his head. "You are not late. In fact, you're early." He smirked.

Kakashi frowned. "Our meeting was supposed to happen two hours ago." He pointed out.

The other man shook his head. "No, I just told you it was supposed to happen two hours ago. I have heard about your chronic lateness, Kakashi-san, and preempted it."

Kakashi laughed at that. "Clever, Imamura-san. No one else has ever tried that." Regaining his seriousness, he then said, "So why did you ask me to meet you here in the first place?"

Hiroyuki ran his hand through his hair and answered, "Because you and I need to talk about a mutual student."

The white haired ninja frowned. As far as he was aware, the other man had never accepted a team. Not to mention the only students Kakashi had were the ones who he was testing tomorrow. "Mutual student?" He prompted.

Hiroyuki nodded. "Yes, I have asked Naruto Uzumaki to be my apprentice to learn about the kenjutsu style of my clan, and he has accepted." He told the man.

"Wait a moment. You asked one of my students to be your student too? Does the Hokage know about this?" Kakashi demanded.

The dark haired man nodded. "I got the Sandaime's approval first. I know it is rare for a new genin to become the apprentice of someone else while still being on a genin team, but it is not unheard of."

Kakashi crossed his arms. "And what if he and his teammates fail my test tomorrow and get sent back to the Academy?" He asked.

"Then I will still teach him. Your test, and whether or not he is an official ninja, have no sway over my decision to train him. I have a feeling he will excel in the Imamura kenjutsu style, and am adamant in seeing that he does so. He is starting much later than most students that have studied the art before, but it is not entirely too late for him to learn."

Kakashi growled. He felt vaguely like this man was intruding on his territory. Stealing his student (whether the kid was officially his or not didn't matter right now). "And I have no say in this?"

Hiroyuki shook his head. "I am sorry that you are insulted by this, but the only ones who can stop this are myself, the Sandaime, or young Uzumaki. The only reason I am telling you is so you are not shocked when I accompany my apprentice on his out of village missions." Of course he wasn't sorry, though. He felt that the Hatake had far too much of an ego, and it needed to be pounded down a bit.

"And what of training? How will we know that our training schedules and techniques will not clash." Kakashi asked. He knew he was defeated, but that didn't mean he would give up the fight entirely.

"Scheduling is no problem. Though he is currently unaware of it, Uzumaki will come to live with me and we will be communicating enough that I can schedule training hours that fit his schedule. As for the techniques, I will only be teaching him the kenjutsu style of my family and the techniques that support it." Hiroyuki said. He glanced at the setting sun. "Uzumaki should be getting out of his meeting with the Hokage soon. I must go. I plan to meet him at his ome to inform him of his change in residence. If we are done here, Hatake-san?"

Kakashi just nodded grudgingly, and watched the other man jump down from the mountain and easily land on the nearest platform.

Damn, now he _had _to pass this team. It was a matter of pride! It had now become a contest to see who was the better teacher.

OoOo

"Uh... what?" Naruto managed to say after a minute.

The Hokage smiled at him. "You must think me a foolish old man, Naruto, if you believe that I only got wind of your odd behavior after the genin exam."

The blond rubbed the back of his neck, trying to figure out where the old man was going with this, and how he knew that Naruto was aware of and had plans for the Akatsuki.

Continuing, the Sandaime said, "I had heard that you were acting oddly calm at the Academy. I, being the suspicious man that I am, not only had ANBU watching you, but also observed your actions myself with a handy technique or two."

At this the boy scowled. "I was being stalked?" He asked indignantly. He was more mad at himself than the Hokage, of course. As a sage he should have realized that he was being spyed on by various sources.

"Oh, you must understand. It was for the safety of the village. A lot of people would love to get their hands on you, and I had to make sure that someone hadn't grabbed you and replaced you with an imposter!" The man assured him.

Naruto sighed. "Great, so I was being stalked for the Greater Good. That makes it so much better."

He didn't expect the blow upside his head.

"I would love to set the ANBU on whoever rendered you this cynical, brat."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Assuming that you heard, saw, and memorized my _private_ conversation with Iruka-sensei, I'm think it's safe to say that my out look on like began changing with your death, and was cemented when my best friend put his hand through my chest. o how come you didn't have your dog drag me out of bed last night or something?"

"Well, not only is that rude, but your story rang true so I didn't think you were a threat to the village. Although I do think you need a few refresher courses in manners yourself." The old man told him.

Naruto laughed. "You have no idea old man. I spent three years traveling with your pervert of a student, and he taught me everything he knows!"

Hiruzen's eyebrows shot up. "You did not mention that to Iruka-san last night." He said.

"Not that, nor the fact that after you Tsunade becomes Hokage. Nor a bunch of other things. If I did then I would have spent a lot more than two hours talking to him last night. o how did you react to the fact that I'm a magical time-traveler? I was actually going to tell you myself, but you just saved me a lot of time being nosy." Naruto leaned forward to get a better look at some of the smaller kanji on the seal the Hokage was working on.

"Tsunade? You're not joking? How did you get her back into the village. When she left she swore never to return." The Sandaime said incredulously. He ignored the boy's question, not willing to admit how badly the story had shocked him.

Naruto glanced at him with a wry smile. "Well, it's a pretty long story, but it basically boils down to she lost a bet with me, and I reminded her of both her little brother and dead lover. he even gave me that cursed necklace of hers. Which is kind of messed up when you think about it. Maybe instead of making her Hokage we should have got her some psychological help..." He said jokingly.

The older man rolled his eyes. "Anyway, back to the original question, how do you plan on dealing with the Akatsuki? And for that matter, how do you plan on keeping young Sasuke from defecting?"

Naruto pointed to one painted figure, "That's wrong." He said calmly. Then he sat back again and smirked at the old man. "And that's exactly why I planned on bringing you into the loop. I don't want to go against the Akatsuki by myself this time. Last time it got the Leaf entirely obliterated off the map, killing everyone. This time I plan on having the backing of every ninja in your power. We need to put them down before they can really become a problem. I know Itachi Uchiha is your inside man. Do you think you could somehow get me in touch with him?" He asked.

"I don't know, he's in pretty deep right now." The Hokage said slowly, contemplatively.

Naruto frowned. "Well I need to give him some warnings about the Mangekyou that he's using so freely right now, not to mention I need his insight if any sort of plan is going to work."

The Hokage nodded. "Alright, then. I will make sure you and Itachi-san are able to communicate safely. It might take a while though. I don't even know where Itachi-san is."

Naruto nodded. "You may go now, but do not be shocked it Kakashi brings you here again soon." Hiruzen instructed, and Naruto stood easily upon his dismissal.

The time-traveler was almost to the door when he stopped and said, "One more question, old man. What was Itachi-san's code name when he was in ANBU?"

Looking at him oddly, the old man answered, "Weasel. Why?"

Naruto snorted, said something under his breath that vaguely sounded like 'Figures', then said loud enough for the man to hear, "No reason, good night old man."

After the boy was gone, the Hokage shook his head. "Even at nineteen that boy is still odd."

* * *

I bet you guys thought I would end it on that itty bitty cliff hanger, huh? Don't get me wrong, I thought about it but... then the chapter would be a very short one. Even now it's not all that impressive length wise, but it seemed longer while I was writing it, and I'm too tired to write any more. So anyway, that should answer the question of one of my dear reviewers Agoge, who reviewed each chapter (I meant to send you a PM, darling, but I read your reviews via email on my iPod, and I'm too tech-challenged to use that to respond. I hope you don't mind). And hey, I updated on time! Let's hope this becomes a habit, ne? All my love, with cookies to reviewers, I'll see y'all next time!


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